Kristen Doute and Luke Broderick Shed Light on Their Money Situation: "Icky Subject"
A couples counselor had some tough questions for Kristen Doute and her boyfriend, Luke Broderick, on The Valley.
The Valley’s Kristen Doute and Luke Broderick found themselves in the hot seat as they faced some tough questions about their relationship on the most recent episode.
The probing questions — which covered everything from where they planned to live to whether they talked about money and how they felt about their disappearing support system — were fired off in Episode 9 by a couple’s counselor, tasked with helping the couple prepare for starting a family together.
Kristen confessed she felt talking about money was an “icky subject” and something she actively tried to avoid — but it wasn’t the only issue the couple has yet to find common ground about.
Kristen Doute and Luke Broderick's Relationship Issues
With plans already underway to try to have a baby together, Luke wanted to seek out the help of a counselor to smooth the path ahead as they navigate their goal of becoming a family.
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“I want to bring a couple’s counselor in because Kristen and I don’t always speak the same language,” Luke explained to producers. “We can be very different people. Getting on the same page is difficult and a lot of times that’s the root of our fights.”
Luke added that while Kristen tends to “run from discomfort,” he seeks it out.
“I think discomfort is where I grow as a person,” he said.
Kristen, a veteran of therapy herself, may be conflict averse, but the T-shirt designer was all too happy to talk with Allen, a marriage and family therapist recommended by castmates Nia and Danny Booko.
“As everyone knows, I scream it from the mountaintops pretty often, I have been in therapy for quite a long time, really since Tom Sandoval and I broke up,” she shared. “So when Luke brought it to my attention that he wanted to do couple’s counseling, I thought it was a brilliant idea.”
But as soon the session began, it quickly became clear how far apart the couple is on many key issues.
Where do Kristen and Luke plan to live?
For example, one major unanswered question is where the couple will call home. Luke is still a resident of Colorado and doesn’t seem eager to make Los Angeles his permanent home any time soon.
“I definitely don’t want to live here long term,” he admitted. “I don’t think I can be happy in this environment here, long term.”
According to Kristen, who didn’t want to delve too deeply into the topic, the decision about where to put down roots is still something they’re “figuring out.”
Kristen Doute and Luke Broderick on Money
As Allen expertly shifted gears to a new topic, the couple also found themselves at odds about how they wanted to approach their finances.
“How do you guys feel, like, financially, as far as things go? I mean, do you talk about finances with each other?” Allen asked.
While Kristen laughed and put her head on Luke’s shoulder, he approached the subject more directly.
“That’s something I’ve been trying to get more uh, insight on,” he said.
“It’s such an icky subject for me,” Kristen replied.
“I’m not acting like it’s fun, but it’s something that we have to do,” Luke responded.
Kristen later opened up in her confessional about why the topic was so taboo for her.
“I know that discussing money and future is important, but I don’t know what it is that just makes me go, oh, my vagina is closing up,” she said.
Kristen and Luke on Friends, Family in L.A.
With Luke’s family in Indiana and Kristen’s family predominantly in Michigan, Luke admitted his “biggest concern” is that they won’t have the support they need in L.A. after a baby arrives.
“We’re very aware that we don’t have, like, the hands-on family help that a lot of our friends have,” Kristen added.
Allen stressed to the couple that having support in place, whether it’s through family or close friends, is often critical to navigating the first few years of parenthood.
“I always kind of feel like in the beginning parts of having a baby, what turns people against each other, you know when you’ve been together for a while, is it can feel very lonely because you spend a lot of time with a human being that can’t really give a lot back,” he said. “So that’s when support systems become very, very important.”
The counseling session came just as the couple was being purposefully excluded from a group trip to Big Bear to celebrate Janet and Jason Caperna’s impending baby. They were cut from the guest list amid backlash that erupted after Kristen lobbed some dramatic accusations at Michelle and Jesse Lally at a recent dinner party.
It’s no surprise then that Luke confessed he had some “concerns” that the friend group could not be counted on to be there for them.
“Me being new to this group and area I have some concerns about who we can trust to be there to help us out. I’m certainly not confident in, kind of, your circle that has children,” he said before adding that he was “very much lacking the ability to see value in these people.”
Kristen shared that she agreed with Luke “to a point.”
“Now that we’re talking about wanting to build a family you would think there would be, like, excitement, support. We’ve definitely not gotten any support like that from them,” she admitted.
Later, in her confessional, Kristen admitted the rift with her friends had her rethinking her future.
“Do I want to live in the absolute middle of nowhere in Colorado for the rest of my life? Hard no. But I have to be honest, considering the way our friends have been treating me this summer, maybe L.A. isn’t the right place for me anymore,” she admitted.
To find out whether Kristen and Luke will be able to mend the fractured friendships, watch The Valley Tuesday nights on Bravo or available streaming the next day on Peacock.
